Meeting Matthew Again...Anew

The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.  Matthew 4

When we hear the word, "tempter" or "Satan" or "devil"...I imagine that the painting above would be what most of us see in our mind's eye.  Or perhaps John Lovitz from Saturday Night Live skits.  Maybe you would throw in a pitch fork for real authenticity. 

A few things about the above painting:
1. I love that it looks like Jesus and the devil are just having a discussion...like you do.  All that seems to be missing is a cup of coffee and you'd think they are two old friends catching up on each other's life.
2.  I love that the devil looking figure seems to be contemplating Jesus' point.  You can almost hear the devil saying, "Ah, I see, you are quoting scripture at me.  (stroke chin here)  Perhaps I should quote some scripture back."
3.  I love that it is happening at night, which is when I tend to toss and turn...rehash and remember all the brokenness of the past day.

But...as much as the painting may match our imagine...the Hebrew word for "tempter" doesn't mean, "Dude in red suit, with a pointee goatee, and a pitch fork."  It means, "accuser."  It is a legal term meaning the defense attorney who is trying to push back on the evidence.  And most of the people I read suggest that what this accuser did was help clarify for Jesus God's claim of belovedness. 

Jesus could have gone off and been someone who responded to every need.  Turning a loaf into bread for this person, healing that one, laughing here...crying there...racing and running around.  But Jesus doesn't get lured into being all things to all people.  Perhaps this temptation is one you wrestle with... it certainly speaks to my heart.

Jesus could have gone off and been super spiritual man...leaping off the top of the temple, flying with angels, amazing everyone.  This can be tempting for pastors too...we want our church stats to show we are growing the church, balancing the budget, and preaching to a pack sanctuary every Sunday.  But the reality is that temptation still lurks around the edges of so many church meetings today.

Finally, Jesus could have just gone with the basic understanding of Messiah...someone who would over throw Rome...not get crucified by them.  Someone who would show Caesar who was really the son of God...and who would only be remembered because of a salad.  Someone who responds with anger and violence.

But Jesus doesn't do any of that. 

Perhaps the real questions is, so why do we?

Why do we let other people steal our joy...or appear more pious than we are...or more popular and powerful and prestigious?  What cuts to my heart is not whether this scene happened, but that it still happens in our own lives.  And not only when some dude in a red suit shows up...

As a matter of fact, the accuser sometimes is within me...or someone I love deeply...or people I respect.  Sometimes it is good to call me back to who and whose I am.  Sometimes it hurts to realize how far I've wandered off the path.  Sometimes I wish for just a moment I could be super spiritual man because I am sure the outfit for that would be awesome.

But, Jesus didn't.  So perhaps there is more than a trace of God's grace and truth in this realization to sit in my heart in these January days.

I pray it so for you and me.

Blessings ~~